Food Security in Small Islands: Case Studies in the Federated States of Micronesia

著者 "YAMAMOTO Sota" journal or 南太平洋海域調査研究報告=Occasional papers publication title volume 54 page range 27-33 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10232/24701 27 南太平洋海域調査研究報告 No.54（2014年12月） OCCASIONAL PAPERS No.54（December 2014） Food Security in Small Islands:

Case Studies in the Federated States of Micronesia

YAMAMOTO Sota

Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Kagoshima University

Abstract

In the 1950s, people in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) still ate a “traditional” diet based on starchy staple crops and marine resources, but this began to be replaced by imported food such as rice, flour, sugar, fatty foods, and other processed foods after the United States Department of Agriculture started its supplementary feeding program in the 1960s. This phenomenon accelerated after a Compact of Free Association was signed between the FSM and the United States in 1986. Since then, the FSM has faced serious public health problems due to this new diet and other lifestyle changes. On small islands and atolls, imported foods and medicines may not arrive for more than a month if a typhoon or an oil crisis occurs. In this study, a detailed study of household food consumption is shown to represent the present situation of food security on Piis-Paneu Island (Chuuk Atoll, Chuuk State) and Pingelap Island (Pohnpei State). Keywords: banana, breadfruit, canned fish and meat, ethnobotany, MIRAB, root and tuber crops (Alocasia, Colocasia, Cyrtosperma, Xanthosoma, etc.)

Introduction

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of four states (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, from west to east) composed of approximately 600 small islands, which amount to an area of approximately 700 km2. However, the FSM is spread over more than 2,600,000 km2 of the Pacific Ocean and spans approximately 2,500 km from east to west. In the 1950s people in the FSM still ate a “traditional” diet based on starchy staple crops (e.g., breadfruit, tuber and root crops, banana, etc.) and marine resources (e.g., fish, octopus, clams, turtles, etc.) (MURAI 1954), but this began to be replaced by a diet rich in rice, flour, sugar, fatty foods, and other imported or processed foods after the United States Department of Agriculture started its supplementary feeding program in the 1960s (ENGLBERGER et al. 2003). This phenomenon accelerated after a Compact of Free Association was signed between the FSM and the United States in 1986 (HEZEL 2004). Since then, the FSM has faced serious 28 YAMAMOTO Sota public health problems due to this new diet and other lifestyle changes, and the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and researchers have attempted to promote a return to local foods because of their higher carotenoid and vitamin contents compared to modern foods (e.g., ENGLBERGER et al. 2009). However, the outlook for these programs is still bleak. In the present paper, a detailed study of household food consumption is shown to represent the present situation of food security in Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk Atoll, Chuuk State and Pingelap Island, Pingelap Atoll, Pohnpei State, the FSM. This paper includes results of presented papers at “Research and Education linkage between Pattimura University and Kagoshima University”, at “the 113th and the 116th annual meeting of Japanese Society for Tropical Agriculture”, at “the ISISA Islands of the World XIII”, and at “the 9th International Conference on Small Island Cultures.”

Materials and Methods

Food consumption survey was conducted to three households in Piis-Paneu Island from September 2012 to August 2013 and to two households in Pingelap Island from August 2012 to January 2014 with Questionnaire sheets (Fig. 1). These households were selected to survey dietary patterns because of an average family size and income. Questionnaire items are as follows: starchy staples (rice, breadfruit, Cyrtosperma merkusii, banana, others), marine resources (fresh fish, dried fish, canned fish, others), meat (fresh, canned), others (instant noodle, coconut, vegetable, fruit). Frequency of each item in one month is calculated using a following formula: Frequency (%) = (total number of appearances of each item / total number of meals in one month) × 100.

Results and Discussions

Imported food (rice, canned fish and meat, instant noodles, etc.) Rice consumption of households in Piis-Paneu Island is very high (PIS-A: 99.3%, PIS-B: 96.3%, PIS-C: 72.1%, 12-month average) compared to that in Pingelap Island (PLP-A: 65.7%, PLP-B: 33.2%, 18-month average) (Table 1). Households in Piis-Paneu Island also used imported food more frequently than those in Pingelap Island, e.g., canned fish (PIS-A: 78.3%, PIS-B: 34.6%, PIS-C: 23.4%, PLP-A: 2.8%, PLP-B: 1.0%), canned meat (PIS-A: 52.1%, PIS-B: 2.3%, PIS-C: 8.1%, PLP-A: 1.4%, PLP-B: 0.5%), and instant noodles (PIS-A: 87.4%, PIS-B: 51.2%, PIS-C: 43.1%, PLP-A: 22.5%, PLP-B: 9.9%). This is partly because of the limited access to Pingelap Atoll. Villagers in Pingelap Island said that a public ship operated 29 Food Security in Small Islands: Case Studies in the Federated States of Micronesia

Pingelap Atoll 1km

Deke I. Federated States of Micronesia Sukoru I.

Pingelap I.

Chuuk Atoll Piis-Paneu I.

Weno I.

Oceania 20km 2000km

Fig. 1. Location of Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk Atoll, Chuuk State and Pingelap Island, Pingelap Atoll, Pohnpei State, the Federated States of Micronesia.

Table 1. Frequency (%) of food consumption of households in Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk State and Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State. Piis-Paneu Island Pingelap Island Sep. 2012 to Aug. 2013 Aug. 2012 to Jan. 2014 (12-month(12-month average)averag) (18-month18-month average)average PIS-A PIS-B PIS-C PLP-A PLP-B Starchy staples Rice 99.3 96.3 72.1 65.7 33.2 Breadfruit 90.2 37.6 77.3 20.4 13.7 Cyrtosperma 41.5 10.1 13.5 18.7 16.7 Banana 62.4 32.6 49.1 41.2 22.5 Others 66.7 0.0 11.2 5.2 1.5 Marine resources Fresh fish 81.1 68.5 69.2 67.4 54.9 Dried fish 42.9 34.1 33.4 0.2 0.1 Canned fish 78.3 34.6 23.4 2.8 1.0 Others 42.1 12.2 29.0 1.2 4.7 Meat Fresh 27.5 30.5 12.5 5.4 2.7 Canned 52.1 2.3 8.1 1.4 0.5 Others Noodle 87.4 51.2 43.1 22.5 9.9 Vegetable 67.9 0.5 16.5 1.2 0.1 Fruit 59.7 4.5 11.9 27.7 9.7 30 YAMAMOTO Sota by the government (approximately USD 12 per person from Pohnpei Island, the main island of the FSM, to Pingelap Island) came to this island only two times from August 2012 to August 2013. There is a 300 m airstrip in Pingelap Island, and Caroline Islands Air serves a light aircraft (for eight persons) to the island, but a flight schedules is irregular and one way costs USD 190. If people would like to send some stuff to Pingelap Island via Caroline Islands Air, it costs USD 0.75 per pound, which is very expensive to villagers. Compared to Pingelap Island, people in Piis-Paneu Island can easily access to Weno Island, the main island of Chuuk Atoll, and buy any kind of imported food there.

Local food (breadfruit, root and tuber crops, marine resources, etc.) All households in Piis-Paneu and Pingelap islands ate fruits of breadfruit with high frequency in especially May to September because of the seasonality of breadfruit. Preserved breadfruit was also used. If they cannot get breadfruit, they ate banana and/or Cyrtosperma merkusii. The frequency of use of marine resources was not very different among months; fresh fish (PIS-A: 81.1%, PIS-B: 68.5%, PIS-C: 69.2%, PLP-A: 67.4%, PLP-B: 54.9%), dried fish (PIS-A: 42.9%, PIS-B: 34.1%, PIS-C: 33.4%, PLP-A: 0.2%, PLP-B: 0.1%), and other marine resources such as clam, octopus, land crab, sea turtle etc. (PIS-A: 42.1%, PIS-B: 12.2%, PIS-C: 29.0%, PLP-A: 1.2%, PLP-B: 4.7%).

Good candidates for food security crops It is found that people in two islands still use crops and marine resources obtained from the island (or atoll) with high frequency. However, people in Piis-Paneu and Pingelap islands somewhat depended on the imported rice. Moreover, the frequency of other imported food such as canned fish, canned meat, and instant noodles was high in Piis-Paneu Island. On small islands and atolls, imported foods and medicines may not arrive for more than a month if a typhoon or an oil crisis occurs. Therefore, it is very important to re-discover plants already naturalized on each island, for food security. From this perspective, Alocasia macrorrhizos and Tacca leontopetaloides are a very important starchy crop for emergency in Piis-Paneu and Pingelap islands. However, a young generation has never eaten them and/or does not know how to cook (Fig. 2). It is necessary to document how to eat these plants for the next generation. One more important candidate plant for food security is chili peppers (Capsicum frutescens), which can serve not only as a spice (fruits) but also as a vegetable (leaves) rich in carotenoids and vitamins (RESOURCES COUNCIL OF THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGENCY 2001). People in Piis-Paneu and Pingelap islands don’t often eat vegetables (PIS-A: 67.9%, PIS-B: 0.5%, PIS-C: 16.5%, PLP-A: 1.2%, PLP-B: 0.1%). However, it is known that leaves of chili peppers are used in the FSM as a vegetable (Table 2). YAMAMOTO (2011) reported 31 Food Security in Small Islands: Case Studies in the Federated States of Micronesia

Fig. 2. Alocasia macrorrhizos (upper left, upper right, lower left) and Tacca leontopetaloides (lower right) in Piis-Paneu Island.

Table 2. Use of leaves of chili peppers (Capsicum frutescens) in Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae states (YAMAMOTO 2011, 2012, 2013b). Use of leaves of C. frutescens Frequency of use of leaves of C. frutescens per*2 as vegetable Week Month Year Several One Several One Several Yes No Total times time times time times Chuuk State Weno 19 [SO:18, FR: 4]*1 19 38 0 7 5 4 3 Romanum 15 [SO:15, FR: 0] 4 19 0 1 2 4 8 Piis 15 [SO:13, FR: 2] 4 19 0 4 1 7 4 Sub-total 49 [SO:46, FR: 6] 27 76 0 12 8 15 15 Pohnpei State Pohnpei 23 [SO: 23, FR: 2] 17 40 0 0 7 10 6 Mokil 20 [SO: 20, FR: 1] 0 20 3 8 3 6 0 Pingelap 35 [SO : 35, FR: 2] 1 36 5 13 3 14 0 Sub-total 78 [SO: 78, FR : 5] 18 96 8 21 13 30 6 Kosrae State Kosrae 17 [SO: 12, FR:12] 5 22 1 0 3 3 10 Total 144 [SO:136, FR:23] 50 194 9 33 24 48 31

[]*1: Theythey used used leaves leaves for for SO: SO: soup soup and and FR: FR: fried fried vegetables. vegetables. Results Results from from multiple multiple answer. answer. *2: Qustionsquestions for people who eat leaves of C.C. frutescensfrutescens.. 32 YAMAMOTO Sota that, in Pohnpei State, the frequency of using the leaves is much higher in remote atolls, such as Mokil and Pingelap, than on the main island, Pohnpei Island. This phenomenon was also confirmed in Chuuk Atoll (YAMAMOTO 2012). It is known that the lifestyle on Pohnpei Island is more modernized than that on Mokil and Pingelap atolls (KAWAI et al. 2010), which seems to have affected the use of C. frutescens leaves. YAMAMOTO (2009) also reported that the indigenous people of Taiwan seem to rarely use the leaves of C. frutescens because they can buy other vegetables at markets. These results suggest that the leaves of C. frutescens may be used less in modern society. To improve the situation of food security and public health on Pacific islands, there should be a renewed focus on these naturalized plants on each island. Maluku Province in Indonesia, where Pattimura University is, has the very similar geographical characteristic to the FSM. It is very important to compare the data of this paper with research results/resources in Pattimura University from the viewpoint of food security in small islands of the Asia-Pacific region. I have great hopes of a further collaboration research with Pattimura University in the near future.

References

ENGLBERGER, L., MARKS, G. C. and FITZGERALD, M. H. 2003. Insights on Food and Nutrition in the Federated States of Micronesia: A Review of the Literature. Public Health Nutrition, 61: 5-17. ENGLBERGER, L., SCHIERLE, J., HOFMANN, P., LORENS, A., ALBERT, K., LEVENDUSKY, A., PAUL, Y., LICKANETH, E., ELYMORE, A., MADDISON, M., DEBRUM, I., NEMRA, J., ALFRED, J., VANDER VELDE, N. and KRAEMER, K. 2009. Carotenoid and Vitamin Content of Micronesian Atoll Foods: Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius) and Garlic Pear (Crataeva speciosa) Fruit. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 22: 1-8. HEZEL, F. X. 2004. Health in Micronesia: Over the Years. Micronesian Counselor Issue 53, 15 pp., Micronesian Seminar, Pohnpei, FSM. KAWAI, K., KUWAHARA, S., ONJO, M., NODA, S., NISHIMURA, A., TOMINAGA, S. and NAGASHIMA, S. 2010. The Influence of Environmental Changes on the Micronesian Area: A Case Study of Islands in Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. South Pacific Studies, 30(2): 23-43. MURAI, M. 1954. Nutrition Study in Micronesia. Atoll Research Bulletin, 27: 1-239. RESOURCES COUNCIL OF THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGENCY (ed.) 2001. Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 464 pp., Kagawa Nutrition University Press, Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese). YAMAMOTO, S. 2009. Use of Capsicum frutescens by the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan. Studies on Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan, 13: 39-75 (in Japanese). 33 Food Security in Small Islands: Case Studies in the Federated States of Micronesia

YAMAMOTO, S. 2011. Use of Capsicum frutescens on Pohnpei Island, Mokil Atoll, and Pingelap Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. People and Culture in Oceania, 27: 87-104. YAMAMOTO, S. 2012. Use of Capsicum frutescens in Chuuk Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. Tropical Agriculture and Development, 56(4): 151-158. YAMAMOTO, S. 2013a. Food Security on Chuuk Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Small Island Cultures, Tual, the Kei Islands, Indonesia,10-13 July, 2013. YAMAMOTO, S. 2013b. Use of Capsicum on Kosrae Island, Federated States of Micronesia. South Pacific Studies, 33(2): 87-99. YAMAMOTO, S., NISHIMURA, S. and KAWANISHI, M. 2013. Food Consumption Survey in Chuuk Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. Paper presented at the 113th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Tropical Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan, 30-31 March, 2013. YAMAMOTO, S., NISHIMURA, S. and KAWANISHI, M. 2014. Food Security on Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. Paper presented at the ISISA Islands of the World XIII, Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan, 22-27 September, 2014. YAMAMOTO, S., NISHIMURA, S. and KAWANISHI, M. 2014. Food Consumption Survey in Pingelap Atoll, Pohnpei State, the Federated States of Micronesia. Paper presented at the 116th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Tropical Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, 4-5 October, 2014.